A federal jury Friday ruled that Masimo's smartwatches infringed on Apple Watch patents, but awarded Apple just $250 in damages, which is the statuary minimum amount Apple could seek while it pursues a jury trial rather than a court trial over Masimo's alleged infringements.
According to Bloomberg Law, jurors found that the original design for Masimo's W1 Freedom and health module, plus its charger, willfully infringed on Apple design patents. However, Masimo said that the ruling only applied to a discontinued module and charger. The distinction undermines Apple's claim of irreparable harm, so while the company won damages, the decision essentially removed Apple's chance to block Masimo's current products.
"Apple primarily sought an injunction against Masimo's current products, and the jury's verdict is a victory for Masimo on that issue," a Masimo spokesperson said in a statement.
The trial came about due to Apple's countersuit in its ongoing legal battle with Masimo, which previously won an import ban on certain Apple Watch models over pulse oximetry patents. The infringement forced Apple to disable blood oxygen monitoring features in Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models sold in the US. The feature is also lacking in the US version of the Apple Watch Series 10. The Apple Watches remain fully functional outside of the country.
During the trial, Apple attorney John Desmarais claimed that monetary compensation wasn't the company's goal, telling jurors: "We're not here for the money. We want them to stop copying our design."
An Apple spokesperson defended the company's position, saying: "Teams at Apple worked for years to develop Apple Watch," while "Masimo took shortcuts, launching a device that copies Apple Watch and infringes our intellectual property."
